Crib tamping machine

ABSTRACT

A mobile crib tamping machine has vibratory surface tamping tools which are vertically adjustable and the size of whose operative tamping surfaces are selectively adjustable in the direction of track elongation for adapting the size of the tamping surfaces to the width of selected cribs.

United States Patent Theurer et al.

[ Oct. 21, 1975 CRIB TAMPING MACHINE Inventors: Josef Theurer, Vienna; Friedrich Oellerer, Linz, both of Austria Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen- Industriegesellschaft mbH, Vienna, Austria Filed: Nov. 25, 1974 Appl. No.2 526,574

Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 17, 1973 Austria 10575/73 US. Cl. 104/12 Int. Cl. E01B 27/02 Field of Search 104/10, 12, 13, 14;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,504,635 4/1970 Stewart et al 104/12 3,719,150 3/1973 Theurer et al. 104/12 Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Randolph A, Reese [57] ABSTRACT A mobile crib tamping machine has vibratory surface tamping tools which are vertically adjustable and the size of whose operative tamping surfaces are selectively adjustable in the direction of track elongation for adapting the size of the tamping surfaces to the width of selected cribs.

9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Oct. 21, 19 75 Sheet1of2 3,913,490

US. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 Sheet2of2 3,913,490

Machines of this type comprise a frame mounted for mobility on a track having two rails affixed to ties resting on ballast, adjacent ones of the ties defining cribs therebetween. The vibratory surface tamping tools are vertically adjustably mounted on the frame for engagement with the surface of the crib ballast and the tamping tools have tamping surfaces for engagement with the crib ballast and operative to tamp the ballast surface in the cribs. Usually, a number of adjacent tamping shoes are arranged to engage the surface of the crib ballast and to compact the ballast in the cribs by exerting compacting pressure on the surface thereof. The tamping shoes may compact the ballast in the cribs as well as adjacent the ends of the ties.

US. Pat. No. 3,719,150 dated Mar. 6, 1973, discloses a mobile crib tamping machine of this general type wherein two surface tamper units each have two tamping shoes for tamping the two cribs adjacent each tie. The assembly may be adjusted to selected tie distances.

A disadvantage common to the known crib tamping machines is the fixed size of the operative tamping surfaces of the surface tamping tools. The tamping surface size in the direction of tract elongation must not exceed the smallest crib width encountered along the track so that the tamping shoe may be capable of entering such narrow crib. This, however, means that such a narrow tamping surface will tamp only a portion of the wider cribs.

It is the principal object of this invention to overcome this disadvantage and to provide vibratory surface tamping tools capable of tamping substantially the entire crib, regardless of the tie spacing, and thus to improve the quality of the crib tamping operation.

This and other objects are accomplished in accordance with the invention with means for selectively adjusting the size of the operative tamping surfaces in the direction of track elongation for adapting the size of the tamping surfaces to the width of a selected crib.

This structural improvement of the tamping tools makes it possible to adjust the width of the operative tamping surface to the spacing between the ties and thus to tamp all the ballast in the crib therebetween. It is possible to adjust the size of the operative tamping surfaces of the tamping tools before the beginning of a tamping operation to the average crib width encountered in the track to be tamped or to change the adjustment during the operation to conform to each crib width. If desired, such adjustable surface tamping tools may be mounted on the mobile machine frame not only for tamping of the cribs but also for tamping the ballast at the tie ends.

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of certain now preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a portion of a mobile track tamping machine showing the vibratory surface tamping tools;

FIGS. 2 and 3 show one embodiment of the tamping tools according to this invention in different operating positions;

FIG. 4 illustrates another, simplified embodiment of a tamping tool according to the invention;

FIG. 5 shows yet another embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 5, showing the arrangement of the tamping tools in respect to two adjacent cribs;

FIG. 7 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 5 adjusted for operation in narrow cribs; and

FIG. 8 is a top view of FIG. 7, similar to the view of FIG. 6.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts operating in a like manner in all figures, and first to FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown frame I mounted on undercarriages 21, 21 for mobility on a track having two rails 2 affixed to ties 3 resting on ballast, and adjacent ones of the ties defining cribs therebetween. Vibratory surface tamping tools 6 are shown to be vertically adjustably mounted on frame 1 for engagement with the surface of the crib ballast, the illustrated embodiment comprising drive 4 for vibrating carrier 5 of the tamping tools and thus to vibrate the tools. The tamping tool carriers are affixed to arms 22 which are vertically adjustably mounted on the machine frame, a hydraulic motor 23 being linked to the carrier arm for vertical movement of the tamping tools. As shown in FIG. 1, tamping tools 6 are mounted on the frame within visual range of an operator in operating cabin 7, a control panel 8 in the cabin enabling the operator to make the required adjustments in dependence on the viewed width of the cribs.

As shown in the drawing, the size of operative tamping surfaces 9 of the tamping tools in the direction of track elongation is selectively adjustable for adapting the size of the tamping surfaces to the width of a selected crib. While any suitable means may be used for such adjustment, such as bending or folding of the tamping tool surfaces, the heavy stresses or loads to which the surface tamping tools are subjected during the tamping operation make it most useful to make this adjustment by providing two adjacent parts mounted for relative movement in relation to each other in the direction of track elongation. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4, the tamping tools comprise stationary part 10 and part 1 I mounted for pivotal movement about an axis extending transversely of the track elongation on carrier plate 12. Hydraulic motor 13 is linked to the carrier plate and tamping tool part 11, respectively, for pivotally moving the two parts so that pivotal part 11 may be partially or fully retracted into the hollow stationary part 10, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

In one end position of tamping tool part 11, as shown in FIG. 1, operative tamping surface 9 is substantially doubled in size, the surface of tamping tool part 11 more or less continuing the surface of tamping tool part 10. In the other end position shown in FIG. 3, part 11 is completely retracted into part 10 so that only the surface of tamping tool part 10 is operative for the tamping of a narrow crib. FIG. 2 shows an intermediate pivotal position and corresponding operative tamping surface size. It will thus be appreciated that the surface tamping tools may be effectively and efficiently used for tamping cribs having as large a width as B an intermediate crib width B or a narrow crib width B Since the tamping machine of FIGS. 1 to 3 has a hydraulic circuit (shown in broken lines) for operating various machine mechanisms in a generally known manner, it will be useful to provide hydraulic motors for pivoting tamping tool parts 11 since motors 13 may be operated by the hydraulic circuit of the machine. But a simplified, manually operated tamping tool is shown in FIG. 4 wherein pivotal tamping tool part is manually pivotal. The sector-shaped side wall of part 1 1 has an arcuate array of holes 14 and the side wall of stationary part has a slot 15, a pin being insertable through slot 15 and a selected registering hole 14 for maintaining the two parts in a manually selected pivotal position in relation to each other.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 8, tamping tools 6' comprise an intermediate stationary part 10' and two movable parts 16 mounted on either side of the stationary part for movement in the direction of track elongation to be completely retracted into the stationary part. The tamping surfaces of the movable parts are slightly above the tamping surface of the stationary part so that the movable parts may be moved from an extended end position shown in FIG. 5 to a completely retracted end position shown in FIG. 7 for selective adjustment of the size of the operative tamping tool surface for adapting this size to the width of a selected crib.

In this embodiment, the adjustment is effectuated by threaded spindle-and-nut drive 18 which will be a most useful moving means in a tamping machine which is generally electrically operated (see electrical operating circuit indicated in broken lines). While the hydraulic or electric means for moving the tamping tool parts will enable the operator to make adjustments during operation, the manual adjustment shown in FIG. 4 will suffree if the tamping width is pre-set at the beginning of the tamping operation in accordance with crib measurements in the track section to be tamped.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 8, a vibrator 19 is built into each stationary tamping tool part for vibrating the tamping tool.

In the illustrated crib tamping machines, two vibratory surface tamping tools are spaced from each other in the direction of track elongation for tamping two adjacent cribs as well as in the direction of the ties whereby the ballast around each point of intersection between ties and rails may be compacted, such an arrangement being shown in the above-mentioned US. Pat. No. 3,719,150. Means is provided for adjusting the spacing of the two surface tamping tools in the direction of track elongation, this spacing adjustment means being hydraulic motor means 24 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 and threaded spindle-and-nut drive in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 8.

FIGS. 6 and 8 make it clear that adjustment of drives 18 and 20 make it possible to adjust the tamping tools to all variants of tie spacings from the widest crib width (shown in FIG. 6) to the narrowest cribs (shown in FIG. 8).

The adjustment of the operative tamping surface size also makes it possible to adjust the tamping pressure of each tool as well as the vibratory force for regulating the tamping.

Penetration of ballast rocks between the movable tamping tool parts is prevented by mounting the parts so that they substantially telescope into each other, i.e., the moving parts passes into the interior of the stationary part, the effective width of the movable part being such that it may be substantially fully retracted into the stationary part.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated in connection with certain now preferred embodiments, it will be understood that many structural variations and modifications may occur; to those skilled in the art, particularly after benefitting from the present teaching, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a mobile track tamping machine, which comprises a frame mounted for mobility on a track having two rails affixed to ties, the ties resting on ballast and adjacent ones of the ties defining cribs therebetween, and vibratory surface tamping tools vertically adjustably mounted on the frame for engagement with the surface of the crib ballast, the tamping tools having tamping surfaces for engagement with the crib ballast and operative to tamp the ballast surface in the cribs, the improvement of means for selectively adjusting the size of the operative tamping surfaces in the direction of track elongation for adapting the size of the tamping surfaces to the width of a selected crib.

2. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 1, the tamping surfaces of the tamping tools comprising two adjacent parts, one of the parts being mounted for pivotal movement about an axis extending transversely of the track elongation for selectively adjusting the size of the operative tamping surfaces.

3. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 2, hydraulic motor means for pivotally moving the two parts.

4. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 2, the pivotal part being manually pivotal, and cooperating pin-and-hole means on the two parts for maintaining the two parts in a manually selected pivotal position in relation to each other.

5. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 1, the tamping surfaces of the tamping tools comprising two adjacent parts mounted for relative movement in relation to each other in the direction of track elongation for selectively adjusting the size of the operative surfaces, and means for effectuating the relative movement of the two parts.

6. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 5, the moving means consisting of a threaded spindle-andnut drive.

7. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 5, one of the parts being mounted for relative movement in relation to another one of the parts within the other part, the other part being stationary.

8. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 7, two of the movable parts being mounted on either side of the stationary part, the two movable parts being mounted for complete retraction into the stationary part.

9. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 1, at least two of the vibratory surface tamping tools spaced from each other in the direction of track elongation for tamping two adjacent one of the cribs, and

means for adjusting the spacing of the two tools. 

1. In a mobile track tamping machine, which comprises a frame mounted for mobility on a track having two rails affixed to ties, the ties resting on ballast and adjacent ones of the ties defining cribs therebetween, and vibratory surface tamping tools vertically adjustably mounted on the frame for engagement with the surface of the crib ballast, the tamping tools having tamping surfaces for engagement with the crib ballast and operative to tamp the ballast surface in the cribs, the improvement of means for selectively adjusting the size of the operative tamping surfaces In the direction of track elongation for adapting the size of the tamping surfaces to the width of a selected crib.
 2. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 1, the tamping surfaces of the tamping tools comprising two adjacent parts, one of the parts being mounted for pivotal movement about an axis extending transversely of the track elongation for selectively adjusting the size of the operative tamping surfaces.
 3. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 2, hydraulic motor means for pivotally moving the two parts.
 4. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 2, the pivotal part being manually pivotal, and cooperating pin-and-hole means on the two parts for maintaining the two parts in a manually selected pivotal position in relation to each other.
 5. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 1, the tamping surfaces of the tamping tools comprising two adjacent parts mounted for relative movement in relation to each other in the direction of track elongation for selectively adjusting the size of the operative surfaces, and means for effectuating the relative movement of the two parts.
 6. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 5, the moving means consisting of a threaded spindle-and-nut drive.
 7. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 5, one of the parts being mounted for relative movement in relation to another one of the parts within the other part, the other part being stationary.
 8. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 7, two of the movable parts being mounted on either side of the stationary part, the two movable parts being mounted for complete retraction into the stationary part.
 9. In the mobile track tamping machine of claim 1, at least two of the vibratory surface tamping tools spaced from each other in the direction of track elongation for tamping two adjacent one of the cribs, and means for adjusting the spacing of the two tools. 